purple kraut.

I have been reading the book Nourishing Traditions as well as a few branch off books over the past year or so. We keep trying different recipes for food preservation, fermentation, as well as just good things like bone broth for stock. We had a few cabbages come in with our CSA recently, so I have been trying sauerkraut - using whey. This batch I used purple cabbage. Yummy.


Basic Sauerkraut

2 pint glass canning jars with plastic lids
1 Medium Cabbage
1 Tbsp sea salt
4 Tbsp of whey (you may use already fermented sauerkraut as an inoculate or simply add another tablespoon of salt.)
Optional -- caraway seeds (1 Tbsp)

Grate cabbage with a hand grater or in a food processor. Put it into a big bowl with the salt and whey, and pound it a little bit with a potato masher or meat mallet.

Press the mixture into a clean glass jar using a wooden spoon. Press firmly until the juice rises to the top and covers the mixture, which it will do when it is pounded enough. Leave at least an inch or more of space at the top of the jar.

Cover the kraut and store the jar in a cupboard or dark place for 3-4 days before transferring to the refrigerator. The sauerkraut may be consumed after a couple of weeks, though if you allow the fermentation process to continue for a month or so in the refrigerator the flavor will be even better.

It tastes great - the purple cabbage seems to be a bit mild, and the kraut is almost sweet and tangy at the same time. YUM. And the color...crazy.